Spring to It

Spring is just around the corner. And as sure as there are April
showers and May flowers, it will blossom with opportunities for
marketers. That's the message from this month's exclusive survey
for American Demographics conducted by Edison, New Jersey-based
market research firm Bruskin Research.

The survey suggests that spring offers a unique window for
marketing diet and fitness products, beauty treatments, car
maintenance, and home improvement items, as well as many others
goods and services. And experts say that if marketers time it
right, there is the potential for a flurry of sales.

According to our survey, some 30 percent of Americans will try
to get in shape or lose weight in anticipation of spring.
Thirty-nine percent of the youngest set — those aged 18 to 24
— say they'll jump on the fitness bandwagon before the season
rolls in, as will 37 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds. Only 28
percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 17 percent of those aged 65 and
older say 'tis the season for physical activity. But
Northeastern-based fitness and health marketers take note: A full
39 percent of residents in your part of the country say they plan
to shed some of their winter padding before spring, significantly
more than any other area in the country.

Even those who don't have a new body in time for spring will
pamper the one they have, the survey shows. In fact, 32 percent of
Americans say they plan to shop for warm weather clothing, and 10
percent plan to get a beauty treatment or a tan to get ready for
the coming season. The major clotheshorses seem to be in the
Midwest: 37 percent of those residents, more than in any other
region, will take a trip to the mall for some new digs before
spring. Nationwide, women are more than twice as likely as men to
purchase a new outfit (43 percent versus 20 percent), and nearly
eight times as likely as men to schedule an appointment at the
salon (17 percent versus 2 percent). Adults aged 18 to 24 and 35 to
49 are also more likely than the average American to stop by the
beauty parlor (15 percent and 14 percent, respectively).

Work Your Body

Thirty-two percent of all Americans say they'll shop for warm
weather clothes to get ready for spring.

ALL

18-24

25-34

35-49

50-64

65+

Go shopping for warm
weather clothes

32%

36%

40%

34%

23%

27%

Get in shape or
lose weight

30%

39%

37%

31%

28%

17%

Get a beauty treatment

10%

15%

10%

14%

8%

4%

Source: Bruskin Research

Spring Cleaning

Sixty-four percent of Americans say they're planning some work in
the yard this spring.

ALL

18-24

25-34

35-49

50-64

65+

Work outside in the yard

64%

47%

64%

73%

71%

55%

Indoor household cleaning

56%

55%

60%

55%

58%

50%

Car maintenance

29%

35%

31%

27%

37%

21%

Source: Bruskin Research

While many Americans will put energy into improving their
physical appearance, more of them will spend time sprucing up their
home. Fifty-six percent of survey respondents report that they have
some indoor household cleaning planned for the next few months, and
64 percent say they plan on doing some outdoor gardening or lawn
care project.

Women will bear the brunt of work inside the home (66 percent of
women plan indoor spring cleaning, compared with 46 percent of
men), while the guys will be paying their dues in the yard (67
percent of men plan outdoor home care, compared with 62 percent of
women).

Yard work is not as popular among the young, however. Only 47
percent of 18- to 24-year-olds plan to get down and dirty outside
this spring. But those aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 64 will turn out in
droves with rakes and shovels in tow: 73 percent and 71 percent of
these groups, respectively, plan to do work outside the home this
spring.

Those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or more are the
most likely to do work in the yard (73 percent). Yet, surprisingly,
they're the least likely to reach for a mop or a broom. Only 52
percent of this group have indoor cleaning plans.

Since winter weather also takes its toll on the family wheels,
29 percent of Americans say they will have some maintenance work
done on their car this spring. Mechanics in the Northeast, get
ready: 41 percent of residents there plan to take their car into
the shop, more than any other region.

So when will winter couch potatoes morph into spring consumers?
It seems everyone has a different idea of when the season begins.
In fact, while 34 percent of Americans believe that spring starts
in March — the month that calendars tell us it officially
arrives — the lion's share of Americans (49 percent) say that
for them, the big warm-up doesn't begin until sometime in April. A
modest, but notable, 10 percent don't acknowledge the arrival of
spring until May.

Not surprising, geography affects people's perception of the
advent of the season. The bulk of those celebrating spring in the
month of March are from the South, with 40 percent of residents in
that region naming it as the month spring arrives. But in the
Midwest, spring doesn't arrive until April, when 58 percent of the
population there says it does. By May, most people in the country
have let go of winter, but 15 percent of those in the Northeast
will still hold out until then before finally acknowledging that
old man winter has left the building. Marketers, take note: Spring
may be a lucrative season — if you can figure out when it's
going to sprout.